


Dark Magic Fix

by Chaosprincess



Category: Dark Series - Christine Feehan
Genre: F/M, Implied Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:55:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22458346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaosprincess/pseuds/Chaosprincess
Summary: What if Savannah Dubrinski had not been as helpless as she seemed? A short fix-fic of the first three chapters of Dark Magic with a quick alternate ending.
Relationships: Savannah Dubrinski/Gregori
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, fellow Carpathian readers! At least, I hope you’ve read one before you read this fic. I had a lot of real issues with the portrayal of Savannah Dubrinski in this novel, especially considering how independent and clever her mother was. So I’m going to just, very quickly, fix up the first few chapters of Dark Magic. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to the rest, but these early ones bothered me so much that I had set the book aside for a while. 
> 
> The first notable change you’ll find below is that Savannah’s friend and assistant Peter has been changed to Petra, because it makes no sense that Savannah’s best and only friend in the world is a Nice Guy™ who continues to pressure her to date him and only compulsion gets him to back off.
> 
> Obviously, if you LOVE Dark Magic exactly the way it is, that’s fine. No judgment, but for those who were hoping for something different, hope you enjoy!

[Chapter One, page 16]

They were always a little weary after the magic show. But because of their dedication to their work, Savannah and Petra tended to be the last to leave the set. They had to make sure all their props were accounted for and in working order for the show that followed after all. When at long last they were satisfied that everything was in place, the pair would discuss a late dinner and catch up on events in their lives outside of set. Tonight their casual chat was interrupted in a most… unpleasant way.

“Did you hear that?” Petra said, reaching down to draw Savannah to her feet. Her eyes frantically searched every shadow. “I didn’t tell you, but the oddest thing happened during the show.” She was whispering as though the very night had ears. “After I put you in the vault, my throat closed off. It was as if someone had his hands around my throat, someone very powerful. I felt a murderous anger directed at me.” She pushed a hand through her auburn hair and laughed nervously. “Silly imagination I know, but I heard the exact same growl in my head. It’s insane Savannah, but it felt as if I’m being warned off you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Savannah demanded, fear in her eyes. Without warning, the lights in the docking area blinked out, leaving them in total darkness. Savannah’s fingers tightened on Petra’s and she had the distinct feeling that they were being watched, even hunted. Petra’s car was a distance away, lost in a parking lot shrouded in blackness. Where were the security guards?”

“Petra, we have to get out of here. If I tell you to run, do it and don’t look back, no matter what.” Her voice was low and compelling, enough so that her best friend would do anything to please her. She was so calm and still against Petra’s side, as if she knew for certain that they would both survive whatever vicious entity stalked them tonight. 

Briefly, Petra’s inner chivalry rallied, demanding she protect Savannah! Like all celebrities, Savannah had her fair sure of threats and stalkers. She was worth a few million, not to mention the steamy, sexy image she commanded as a female magician. Savannah had a strange, mesmerizing effect, as if the memory of her haunted them for eternity. 

“RUN NOW!” Savannah commanded.

Savannah felt the movement in her bones before she even heard the subtle shift in the air. She grabbed Petra’s arm and flung her forward before the impact. The nightmarish figure, reeking of death, crashed onto the pavement a foot or so behind them. As it scrambled to change directions, Savannah lunged forward and kicked the fallen beast with all her might. She heard the crack of bones and felt the body shudder before it went flying yards further. 

By now, Petra was racing across the parking lot faster than she had even known her feet could run. It was as if her body was moving on its own. She wanted to look back, but she could not physically force herself to do it. 

“SAVANNAH!” she cried in terror, but her head was firmly facing forward and her eyes were streaming with tears. 

Meanwhile, Savannah had her violet eyes fixed on the gaunt creature that was getting to its feet. It had the shape of a man, but only the shape. The creature’s eyes were red and the fanged grin it gave was nothing short of deranged. It laughed as it stumbled towards her.

“I found you first. I knew I would,” the monster taunted.

“Why did you attack my us?!” Savannah demanded. With confidence, she remained still and steady, perfectly balanced on her feet. “What do you want?”

“I will be your husband. Your lifemate.” There was a threat in his voice. “Your father, the great Mikhail Dubrinski, will just have to take back the death sentence he pronounced on me.The long arm of his justice doesn’t quite reach the streets of San Francisco, does it?” 

_You poor sad fool,_ Savannah thought, with just a brush of pity. _You are already dead._

“And if I refuse?” she said instead, with a tilted chin.

“Then I take you the hard way. It might be fun,” the vampire mused. “A change from all those simpering human women, puppets begging to please me.” 

His depravity sickened her. 

“They don’t beg you. You take their free will. It’s the only way you could have a woman,” she said, pouring all the loathing and contempt she was capable of into her voice.

The ugly smile faded from his hollow features, leaving him an ugly caricature of a man, a creature from the very bowels of hell. His breath escaped in a long hiss. “You will pay for that disrespect.” He lunged towards her. 

It was exactly what she had been waiting for. Better to let the enemy come to her, she had learned from years of practice. When he came for her, she ducked low, avoiding his claw-like hands, and plunged her hand between his ribs with the ease and precision of a scalpel. Once inside his chest, Savannah gripped his cold, hard husk of a heart and ripped it clean from his chest, breaking his ribs as she freed her hand. She flipped him easily over her back.

The creature fell over, not dead yet, but obviously in shock and pain. Shock because he had not expected such a delicate looking woman to defeat him with such ease. Savannah allowed herself to smirk. It was not often that she was put in a position to defend herself against a vampire, and she was glad to know her years of training had not been for not. 

“My apologies,” Savannah purred in pure confidence. “Dreadful manners, I know. Usually, I take a man to dinner before ripping his heart out, but I am a very busy woman and you have been a most unpleasant suitor.” 

Suddenly, a dark shadow moved out of the night, muscles rippling like steel beneath an elegant silk shirt. The shadow glided in front of Savannah like a shield, forcing her behind him. One large hand brushed her face, as if checking her over for injury, while the other stole from her the heart of her attacker. The touch was brief yet incredibly tender, and the momentary contact seemed to steal from her all of her righteous anger about being attacked in the first place. His pale silvery eyes, then slashed at the creature. 

“Good evening, Roberto. I see that you have met _ma petite_. My only wish is that she had exercised patience, so that I could have taken care of you. There was no need for her to dirty her hands.”

His voice was pleasant, cultured, soothing, and even hypnotic. 

“Gregori,” Roberto spat. “I have heard whispers of the dangerous Gregori -- the Dark One, the boogeyman of the Carpathians. You hardly live up to that, showing up in the eleventh hour, when this woman has done all the work.”

It was all bravado. He was frantically searching for a way out and both she and Gregori knew it. Gregori smiled, a small, humorless quirk of his lips that brought a distinctly cruel gleam to his eyes. 

“You obviously never learned your manners, Roberto. In all your long years, what else have you failed to learn?”

_When he attacks, Savannah, you will leave this place._

It was an imperious command in her head.

 _Don’t be absurd. It was me and my friend that he attacked. I’ve already taken his heart. Let me burn it and be done with this._ It was against her principles to allow anyone else to fight her battles and perhaps be injured or killed in her place. She did not stop to think why it was so easy and natural to speak with Gregori, the most feared of the Carpathian ancients, on a mental path that was not the standard path of communication for their kind.

 _You will do as I tell you_ , ma petite. The order was spoken in her mind in the same calm tone that carried undeniable authority. Savannah drew a slow and steadying breath to swallow her indignation. It would be a lie to say that she was not afraid of defying him. Roberto was truly a fool to think he was up to taking on a Carpathian as powerful as Gregori. Savannah on the other hand, was well aware that she was no match. She was young, a novice in her people’s arts, and Gregori had centuries of practice beneath his belt. 

“You have no right to interfere, Gregori,” Roberto snapped, sounding like the spoiled petulant boy that he was. “She is unclaimed.”

Gregori’s pale eyes narrowed to a slash of cold silver.

“She is mine, Roberto. I claimed her many years ago. She is my lifemate.”

Roberto got to his feet and took a cautious step to the left.

“There has been no official acceptance of your union. I will kill you and she will belong to me.”

“What you have attempted to do here is a crime against humanity. What you should do to my woman is a crime against our people, our treasured women, and against me personally. Justice _has_ followed you to San Francisco, and the sentence our Prince Mikhail pronounced over you will be carried out. Your mere thought to claim my lifemate as your own, would earn you your fate.”

Gregori never raised his voice, never lost his faint, taunting smile. _Go Savannah._

_This is unnecessary, Gregori. His heart is in your hand as we speak. There is no sense in torturing him._

Gregori gave a soft, feathery laugh. 

_This creature has threatened to commit the most vile and heinous act that he could possibly commit against our kind, and you would have me show mercy?_

_I would._ Savannah replied with unwavering certainty. _I will not have you torment a poor soul that is already damned in my name._

For a long moment, it seemed that he might ignore her. She could see his cruel, destructive desires waging war against his urge to honor her wishes. In the end, much to Savannah’s relief, her wishes won out. 

_For you, ma petite. But only this once._

It made sense to him, in a twisted way, that his woman should be as merciful as he was merciless.

“It is my woman’s wish that I spare you from false hope that you can defeat me in your sorry state, Roberto. Thus, I bid you adieu.” 

Gregori raised his arm skyward and lightning split the air between them, striking the heart and Roberto’s body. Roberto lunged forth in desperation, but the lightning cracked like a whip, beating him down strike after strike, until his body was a smear of black ash on the pavement. Gregori clapped the remains from his hands and flashed a toothy grin in Savannah’s direction.

Savannah stood with her arms folded. She now had a much bigger problem than a vampire on her hands... 

There was a gentle stirring of air beside her. Then Gregori’s fingers curled around her arm and drew her up to her feet. Up close he looked even more powerful, completely invincible. His arms curved around her shoulders and dragged her against the solid wall of chest. His thumb caressed her cheek and his chin brushed the top of her head. He could hear her heart race, and that may have been thrilling… if her blood did not sing clearly of fear. Not fear of the vampire. She had sensed her calm and steady heartbeat as she faced him. But fear of him. 

“How are you feeling, ma petite?”

“Petra and I are fine,” Savannah muttered quietly. “No thanks to you.”

“I am sorry I was too late to save your friend. By the time I was aware of the vampire’s presence, he had already struck. But she is waiting beside her car now. Would you like me to send her home?”

“No,” Savannah said, quiet but firm. Her mind brushed his and found only genuine regret. So it was not his intention to sever her from her only friend in the world. Or was he just good at hiding his true intentions? “How did you find me?”

“I always know where you are, every moment. Five years ago you said you needed time, and I gave it to you. But I’ve never left you. I never will.” 

There was a gentle finality in his words, an echo of resolve in his mind.

Savannah’s heart lurched. 

“Don’t do this, Gregori. You know how I feel. I’ve created a new life for myself.”

His hand, gentle in her hair, sent butterflies in her stomach.

“You cannot change what you are. You are my lifemate, and it is time for you to come to me.” His voice held velvet-soft compulsion when he whispered _lifemate,_ reinforcing his tampering with nature. The more he said it, the more Savannah would believe it. True, he suddenly saw in color and felt emotion because he had found his lifemate. But Gregori also knew he had programmed their chemistry to be compatible before she was born; she had never had a chance.

Her teeth bit her full lower lip in agitation. 

“You can’t take me against my will, Gregori. It’s against our laws.” 

He bent his dark head, his warm breath sending a shiver of heat coiling in the pit of her stomach. 

“Savannah, you will accompany me now.”

She flung her head up, her blue-black hair cascading in all directions.

“No. I’m the closest thing to family that Petra has. I will go see to her safety _first_ . Then we will _discuss_ this.”

She was wringing her hands, betraying her nervousness of him, unaware that she did so.

Gregori’s larger hand covered hers and stilled the desperate twisting of her fingers. 

“You are not thinking straight, _ma petite_. Your Petra will be fine, I have already sent her home and to forget about you for the foreseeable future.

“I’m thinking just fine,” Savannah hissed, snatching her hand free, though only because he allowed it. “And how dare you make my best friend forget me! I won’t go with you.”

White teeth gleamed at her, a predator’s smile. “You may attempt to defy me in this, Savannah, if you feel you must.”

She touched her mind to his. Male amusement, implacable resolve, utter calm. Nothing ruffled Gregori. Not death, and certainly not her defiance. Savannah’s mind raced. Her human teachings playing on repeat in her school. She must not allow herself to be moved to the second location. Her chances of escape, while infintesimal at this point, would become non-existent if she allowed herself to be moved.

“I’ll call for security,” she threatened desperately.

The immaculate white teeth flashed again. The silver eyes glittered. 

“Do you wish to release them from the orders I gave them before you do so?”

She closed her eyes, trying to still the tremble of shock and fear.

“No, no, don’t do that,” she whispered, defeat sinking in.

Gregori studied the misery so transparent on her face. Something tugged at his heart, something unrecognizable but nevertheless strong. 

“The dawn will be upon us in a couple of hours. We need to leave this place.”

“I won’t go with you,” she insisted stubbornly.

“If your pride dictates you must fight me, you may try to do so.”

His voice, with its Old World War cadence and formality, was almost tender.

Her eyes deepened to purple.

“Stop giving me your permission! I am Mikhail and Raven’s daughter, a Carpathian like yourself and not without my own powers. I have a right to my own choices!”

“If it pleases you to think so.”

His fingers curled easily around her slender wrist. His grip was gentle, but she could feel his enormous strength. Savannah pulled hard, testing his resolve. Gregori appeared not to otice her struggles.

“Do you wish me to make this easier on you? You fear needlessly.” 

His mesmerizing voice was incredibly tender.

“No!” Her heart slammed painfully in her chest. “Don’t control my mind. Don’t make me a puppet.” She knew he was powerful enough to do so, and it terrified her.

Two fingers caught her chin firmly and tipped it up so her gaze was captured by his silver one. “There is no danger of such an atrocity. I am no vampire. I am Carpathian and you are my lifemate. I will protect you with my life and will always see to your happiness.”

She took a deep breath for control, then let it escape slowly.

“We are not lifemates. I don’t know what it is you’ve done to me, but I did not choose,” Savannah said, turning and meeting his eyes with a near omniscient gaze.

For the first time since their conversation began, Gregori seemed caught off-guard, nearly shocked, as if he had not accounted for her knowing that something was wrong about their bond to each other. Then, in an instant, it vanished. 

“We can discuss this at a more opportune time.” 

She nodded warily. 

“I’ll meet you tomorrow then.”

His silent laughter filled her mind. Low. Amused. Frustratingly male. 

“You will come with me now.” 

His voice lowered an octave, became warm honey, compelling, hypnotic, so mesmerizing it was impossible to fight.

Savannah dropped her forehead against the muscles of his chest. Tears were burning in her eyes and throat. Tears of rage.

“I’m afraid of you, Gregori,” she admitted painfully. “I can’t live the life of a Carpathian woman. I’m like my mother. I’m too independent, and I need my own life.”

“I know your fears, _ma petite._ I know your every thought. The bond between us is strong enough to cross oceans. We can deal with your fears together.”

“I can’t do this. I won’t!” Savannah ducked under his arm, blurred her image, and put on a burst of blinding speed.

But no matter which way she twisted or turned, no matter how fast she ran or dodged, Gregori was with her every step of the way. When she finally wore herself out and stopped, she was at the far end of the stadium, tears streaming unchecked down her face. Gregori was beside her, solid, warm, invincible, as if he truly knew her every thought, her every move before she made it.

His arm curved around her waist, lifting her completely from her feet and locking her to him. “By allowing you your freedom, I expose you to the danger of renegades like Roberto.” For a moment he dropped his head to bury his face in the thick mass of her silky hair. Then, with no warning, he launched himself into the air, a huge bird of prey with enormous strength, Savannah’s small body pressed tightly to him. 

[you may assume this chapter finishes as CF wrote it]


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Savannah is trapped in a house with the most powerful and dangerous of all Carpathian man. She cannot deny her attraction to him, yet she longs for the freedom her mother so often spoke of. Is she simply in denial of her true nature? Or is there something more sinister at work?

[You may assume, with the slight changes noted below, that everything played out the same way as the novel]

[Chapter 2, pg 47]

_ All right, Gregori, you win--this time. _

_ All the time, _ ma petite. 

There was no bragging, no triumph, just gentle calm. It was his calm that made her believe Gregori was far more dangerous than she had ever imagined. He didn’t threaten or yell or rage. He stated evertything quite evenly or, worse, seemed amused by it. A familiar scent filled her lungs as she inahled one last breath. The wolf, her wolf, filled her mind with comfort, soft fur rubbing against her arm, her cheek. Savannah kept her eyes closed tightly, afraid of destroying the illusion.

_ I missed you.  _ She merged her mind with the wolf’s.  _ I wish you were really here with me right now. _

_ I have always been with you. _

The wolf’s mind accepted her, enfolded her, embraced her with warmth. The mind was so familiar, as if she had walked in it a thousand times.  _ I wish that were true, that you were here with me for real. _ The wild scent was strong in her nostrils. For a moment, Savannah held her breath, not daring to breathe. Then, slowly she lifted her lashes. Beside her, the wolf stretched out, glossy black fur rubbing her skin. The wolf turned its head, revealing it’s unusually intelligent eyes. Savannah balled her fists in its fur.  _ But you are not here. Because you were never real. You were always a trick, a way for Gregori to keep close to me. _

She shoved the wolf back and rolled over, away from it, bitterly. Did he think her a fool? Did he truly believe that she did not know? An unusually intelligent wolf happens upon her in the forest and befriends her. A wolf who comes to rescue her in her time of need? Perhaps she had allowed herself to play along for too long, shared too much of herself with her wolf, but a part of her had always known, had never forgotten. And that part of herself, secret from even the traitorous wolf, would save her from this hell.

_ You were lonely. _

_ I had no chance, did I? Not even as a child. _

_ Not from the moment you were conceived,  _

No remorse. Only that calm, implacable resolve. 

Furiously, she shut him out of her mind. She may not be as angry as she would have been if she had been truly fooled, but she was still angry enough to pull it off convincingly. He may be the oldest and most powerful of their kind, but he was not a god. The moment she started thinking of him as one, her freedom would be forever lost. 

[You may assume the chapter continued as CF has written it]


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fateful conflict leads to Savannah's worst fear.

[Chapter 3, pg 59]

The soft command had her gaze flying to meet and lock with him. She stepped back, staggering, and would have fallen if he had not with his preternatural speed to cover the distance between them. His arms swept her up and pinned her to him, his silver eyes slashing at her.

“Why are you so weak?”

She pushed at the wall of his chest in a vain attempt to escape a mind search. He would be able to extract any information he desired quite easily, better that she deliver quick answers than have the secrets ripped from her soul. “You know I never touch human blood, while I was a child, it didn’t seem to matter all that much, but over the last couple of years, there have been” -She searched for the word- “Repercussions.”

He remained silent, his unblinking gaze steady, compelling her to explain. And it was compulsion. She could not resist the command in his unwavering eyes.

Savannah sighed, in seeming resignation. “Repercussions… like I’m weak most of the time, by your standards. Shape-shifting takes an enormous toll. That’s why my shows are becoming increasingly rare. I am conserving my power. I can hardly manage mist to escape and materialize again. Even now, I am holding back, stretching my last feeding out to the last possible moment.”

It was the truth. She was conserving her strength, letting him believe that she was fighting back with her full force, when in truth she’d hardly made any effort at all. Yes, she was exhausted that much was true, but only because she had trained herself not to dip into those magical reserves, to keep them hidden, even from one who walked her mind as if it were an open field. The trouble was… even open fields could hide pitfalls. 

His silver eyes became steel and his arms tightened, threatening to crush her body against the hard strength of his own. “Why have you not remedied the situation?” His voice, a soft menace, sent a shiver through her. She was all too aware of his enormous strength.

“I tried with Petra once, when I was really in a bad way. She was compliant, but I just couldn’t bring myself to take her blood, to feed on someone who loved and trusted me. To take the life force of my closest friends.” 

This too was true. She had tried to feed off of Petra through compulsion once. What she desperately concealed with the truth of this single memory was that she had resolved the issue. By telling Petra everything… and gaining her consent to feed. With possession of so much deadly knowledge about their kind, Gregori might bypass wiping Petra’s mind and simply strike her down all together. 

A lack of human blood was  _ not _ the reason for Savannah’s perceived weakness, but Gregori must continue to believe that it was until the very end, when his true nature was at last revealed. 

“This will end. I forbid the continuation of this stupidity.” He gave her a little shake, his teeth very white as they snapped together in irritation. “Should there be need, Savannah. I will force your compliance.” He wasn’t simply bragging; his voice held no challenge or taunt. He simply stated the fact.

She knew he was threatening her not with physical force, but with mental compulsion, but to her the two were one and the same, no less violent, no less horrifying. “Gregori” -- she was striving to sound calm and reasonable--”it would be wrong for you to force your will on me.”

He set her on her feet, holding her carefully with one hand, the other going to the buttons of her blouse Savannah’s breath caught in her throat. Both her hands whipped up to catch his. 

“What are you doing?”

“Removing your clothes.”

He didn’t seem to be aware of her hands straining to control his. The edges of her blouse parted, revealing her narrow rib cage, the soft swell of her breasts in nearly transparent lace. Her lingerie was a remnant of the magic show. Wearing it beneath her clothes on stage made her feel empowered, sexy. Now, alone with this powerful stranger, she felt vulnerable and frightened. 

The beast surfaced for a moment, wanting to tear, to feed, to claim. It was nearly impossible for Gregori to control, and for the first time he was truly afraid he had waited too long to come to her. Savannah saw it too. He could hear the terror sing in her blood. 

She could be in real danger if he slipped over the edge into madness. Need slammed into him, hard and painful, but he took a deep breath, fought and won. His hand was steady as he removed the wisp of lace, spilling her full breasts into his view. His fingers brushed satin skin because he couldn’t stop himself, his thumb stroking her nipples into hard peaks. He murmured something-- Savannah wasn’t certain what it was-- before he lowered his mouth to taste the creamy offering.

“Gregori?” Savannah asked, voice breaking as her legs gave out from her at the first touch of his tongue and the scrape of his teeth. Her body went liquid with need. He drew her into the moist heat of his mouth.

Savannah’s fingers tangled in his thick, midnight-black hair with every intention of jerking his head back, but flames were licking along her skin, igniting deep within her.  _ Just once, taste the forbidden. Just once. _ It was a measure of pleasure that she didn’t know if it was his thought or hers tempting her. 

Still, she clung fast to her mind and her reason. She knew from her studies that bodily desire did not negate right or wrong. It might feel good to some Carpathians to kill, or puppeteer the minds of humans, but that did not make it right. Not to mention how easily the body could be deceived. Drugs and alcohol could make the body compliant, even feel good, while the mind was unwilling, and the trauma of that would become realized when her body awoke from its haze of pleasure. Savannah didn’t want that for herself. She had long dreamed of a love where she could give herself completely, mind, body, and soul. But this was not that love. Her body wanted him because that was what Carpathian bodies did, but the rest of her found this abhorrent. At the very least she needed time to align her desires. Time he was starkly refusing to give. 

His hand skimmed down her stomach, found the zipper of her jeans. Around her, colors whirled and danced, the air crackled, the earth shifted beneath her feet. A moan of despair, of desire, escaped her throat. The sound of their hearts, the rush of their blood, was music in her ears. It called to something wild in her. The scent of him, masculine and aroused, the scent of his blood brought hunger, sharp and compelling.

“No! I don’t want this!” Savannah cried, desperate to escape his black magic spell. She wanted him more than anything, more than her own soul, and intensity of her need frightened her to death. Even if this desire was her own, and not his masquerading as hers, she still had the right to choose when and her mind gave a resounding  _ not now! _

Gregori’s arms trapped her so that they fell together, floated to the floor, his large body covering hers. Her head was pinned beneath his chest, the scent of his blood was strong, his pulse beating, beating at her resistance. His hands hooked in her waistband of her jeans and peeled them from her body with ease, taking with them the lacy scrap that passed for underwear. 

The removal of her panties gave Savannah a brief and  _ blinding _ moment of clarity. 

“I SAID NO!”

For the second time since meeting Savannah, Gregori was aghast. The words seemed not to leave his lifemate’s mouth. It was as if she had been replaced by another person entirely. She shoved him off of her with astounding force. She was born anew. Her power was absolute. Her confidence was radiant. Her violet eyes flashed with deadly contempt. 

She had caught him off guard, that was for certain. But she knew that she had only a moment to properly defend herself. In a flurry of hand movements, she cast a silvery barrier around herself and took off, racing through the door, naked as the day she was born. She could hear Gregori’s howl of rage as he crashed into the barrier for the first time, not realizing it was not the sort that he could brute force his way through. For a moment it might have seemed that he had shattered it completely, but the silk-thin threads of magic multiplied and bound him, absorbing the energy of his crash and using his own brute strength against him. He chased her as he had in the parking lot on the night of the attack, but this time she wasted no time zigzagging, knowing all she had to do was keep moving forward. 

_ YOU CANNOT HOLD ME,  _ ENFANTE _!  _ Gregori howled in her mind, the beast within consuming his usual calm and deadly resolve.

_ And you cannot hold ME!  _ Savannah replied, letting her triumph seep into her voice. 

Within seconds it became clear that her magic was slowing him, or he would have had her by now. Forced to confront the barrier magic, he turned his attention to hacking away the threads that tugged on his limbs and chest. But they multiplied with every hack of his hands, coming back stronger and more numerous, until he was cocooned and sluggish even by human standards.

_ Are you enjoying my spell? _ Savannah asked, voice thrumming with joy.  _ It is my mother’s. Perfected through many years of practice. She could never manage it as well as I, because she could never bear to drink human blood. But I have long overcome that hurdle. It is the perfect spell for brutal, arrogant men like you, who think themselves our intellectual superiors. Enjoy untangling it. I fear that by the time you do, I shall be long gone. _

_This is nonsense,_ ma petite. Gregori said, trying and for once failing to maintain his eerie calm. _I am yours and you are mine and that is how it should be! When I free myself of this, I shall bind you to me and never let you go._

_ Oh Gregori, _ Savannah said, with an air of sorrow.  _ You will never have me again.  _

_ You never gave me a chance! _

_ I gave you EVERY chance!  _ Savannah replied, swift and cutting.  _ I told you not to cage me. Not to invade my mind. Not to force my hand. I told you time, and time, and time again. But you could not help yourself. _

For emphasis, she replayed the last three days and nights, every unwanted caress, every time he held her and she resisted, every time he violated her trust and ignored her will. She forced him to  _ feel _ how trapped and helpless he made her. Forced him to see the bleakness of how she viewed their lives together had she stayed. 

_ Come back _ , ma petite _. I can see now that I’ve ruled with too heavy a hand. I will do better. _

_ You will not do better… You cannot. It is not in your nature to do so. You will try to rule over me, overpower me, as all Carpathian men are wont to do. You will use your age and supposed wisdom as an excuse, say that it is too dangerous for me to do things on my own. Maybe in another life we would have grown together, side by side, but in this life your time has passed, and mine is just beginning. If you are truly my lifemate, then one day I will be forced to meet the dawn for the crime of rejecting you. But never will I force another to endure what you forced me to, manipulated from womb to grave. Fuck you, Gregori. _

Then with a final burst of power and light, she burned every last trace of him from her mind. It would take everything from her. She would need to stop and rest soon, but she had precautions for that, ways to stay hidden from him until he at last succumbed to vampirism, or met the dawn with honor as he swore to long ago. In either case, she would be free. 


	4. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could go through and redo the entire book, but it's a little too exhausting. For those who want to imagine what would happen with this version of Savannah to the end, you may have her consider the struggle that Gregori is going through and perhaps return to save him from his own darkness. Only this time, she had a real choice in the matter and was not already being violated when she made that decision. 
> 
> From there, there would be the scene where she hears her mother and he decides to take over her mind completely to keep her from crying out instead of simply explaining himself. She would have broken that in this version, and a fight would have ensued, one that even a weakened Gregori would have won, so it was not worth his trying to control her in the first place.
> 
> That's as far as I got. Enjoy this ending instead.

Savannah Dubrinski returned to her homeland in the Carpathian Mountains no sooner than a century following her escape from the all-powerful Gregori. She was greeted warmly by her mother, Raven, and her father, Prince of Carpathians, Mikhail. The rest of Carpathian kind, those who had not traveled elsewhere into the world, flocked to meet the only female of their kind to live a century and not bind to a lifemate. They clamored to see if she was as haggard and world-weary as an unbound male would be. 

What they found was a young and vigorous woman, wearing tight and sexy leather pants and jacket. She rode a motorcycle of all things, and relished the long winding roads of the countryside. Once it became clear that Gregori would not come for her again, she had returned to her magic shows, with Petra, who had passed just a year ago, rest her beautiful soul. Savannah was known the world over for her magic and seemingly ageless looks, chalked up by the humans to be the result of plastic surgery and good genes. She was amused to hear humans on social media swear up and down that they could tell she’d had work done on her nose. 

Several men had tried to claim her over the years, vampire, Carpathian, and human alike, but none ever came as close as Gregori had. It had taken many years of therapy to dispel the nightmares of that fateful night. Now here she was, ready at last to settle down with her lifemate, her true lifemate. 

So one night, beneath the full moon, Savannah carried herself to the tail of the Carpathian Mountains, to the richest, purest soil that their homeland had to offer. There was not a man-made structure in sight. Here, in the hollow of the woods, she crouched down dug a hand into the earth. She shut her eyes and cleared her mind, allowing it to travel down, down, down.

Many Carpathians believed that Gregori had gone mad when he failed to claim her, or that he had chosen to meet the dawn in peace, or that he was a vampire forever lurking in the shadows, but Savannah knew the truth. She knew that however insane Gregori may have been driven, or how angry he may be at her rejection, he would never condemn her to the bleak and lonely existence of never having a lifemate, and he was surely the only one for her, by nature or by tampering. 

Savannah sat for what felt like hours. She could hear the dawn approaching, but she did not waver, nor did she rush. Until at last, seemingly from the center of the earth itself, came a voice as wild and as untame as nature itself.

Ma petite. 

_ Good evening, my life. _

_ Ah, so I’m your life now? _

_ You always were. Darkness take you. _

His laugh seemed to shake the ground itself. 

_ Is this some strange new manner of apologizing? _

_ I’m not here to apologize, _ Savannah replied with a calm that was eerily similar to his own before he had vanished into the earth.  _ Or plead, or beg, or whatever it is you’ve been fantasizing during your hundred year nap. _

_ Then why have you come all this way _ , Ma Petite?  _ Surely, you have not come with the expectation of receiving such behavior from me? _

There was an air of mocking to it, not his usual male amusement which had been so infuriating to her at the time. She could sense that his bitterness at her departure, and their separation. There was even a hint of remorse for his actions, though he’d sooner die than admit it. Their minds had melded as easily as ever though, despite decades of separation. Was that to do with his genetic tampering? She would never know. 

_ No. I have long accepted that Carpathian male pride will prevent you from admitting your wrong, even when you were so clearly wrong.  _

There was a stir of disquiet in the earth, anger and acceptance from the ancient one, all at once. He knew that he had done wrong, and in one hundred years he thought he had been prepared to humble himself before her, only to discover upon her arrival that he was not.

_ Then hurry and tell me why you have disturbed my slumber. _

_ I have come to meet my lifemate, on equal terms, and to offer a life and a future together at long last. _

_ On equal terms? _ Gregori echoed. There was a shadow of fear in his voice, something she might not have noticed when she was younger, and thought him to be fearless and invincible. She had left him that night thinking him a monster, but through the lense of time she could see more clearly that he was merely a fearful old man. Afraid of losing himself to the monster within, afraid of losing her to the monsters without. Now he was afraid of what being with her would require, if she would demand more of him than he was capable of giving. She could see right through his veneer of superiority now. He was just a man, like any other. A Carpathian man, but a man all the same.

_ Yes. I will forgive all past sins, let go of my past anger and frustration, if you can forgive mine. We will start anew and work together to find a way forward. We will compromise and live as one for the rest of our lives. _

Her words were firm, and her resolve was absolute. She had come with the intent of compromise, but after many years of life she knew to avoid the paradox of tolerance. She could not tolerate what was inherently intolerable. She could not tolerate the denial of her own free will, as he had already attempted to do. 

_ If you know me at all, _ ma petite.  _ Then you know there is nothing for me to forgive. I sensed your fear, and your hurt, and ignored it. I terrorized you and held you captive. You did only what was necessary to survive. I was not in my right mind that evening. I am ashamed to say that I would have violated you and debased us both had you allowed me to continue. _

_ I am aware, _ Savannah said, calm and mournful, of her youth and her innocence.  _ And a younger me scorned you for it. I would have condemned you to an eternity of life without a lifemate. But back then I was too young to see that condemning you to such a wretched existence would be condemning myself. On top of that… I am not blind to your pain, your many decades of life before even my birth. I pushed you to your limits with my demands for freedom. Had I allowed you to claim me on my 18th birthday it would never have gotten that far, but… I cannot bring myself to regret it. I would not be the woman I am today had I allowed you to claim the naive child I was back then. _

_ And who is this woman I see before me? _ Gregori asked, his mind roving the new pathways of her own, seeing what she’s seen, revelling in her new experience.  _ You’ve had sex. _ He stated this clearly, as a fact. There was no sign of disgust or revulsion, but he would not have mentioned it if it had not mattered to him.

Savannah smiled.  _ I have. Good and bad. Man and woman Gentle and rough. I chose when and how, each and every time. Chose my lovers with care. I learned what I liked and what I didn’t, and after a time, I found that my curiosity was sated, and that I was disinterested in partaking with any others. My heart and body always longed for you, and at long last my mind does too. _ She stated all of this very gently but remained matter-of-fact. She knew that it would be difficult for a Carpathian male to understand. They were so used to claiming their lifemates as virgins, who would never know any lover but them. They were dark and possessive creatures, liable to kill a man for a look or a brush, let alone a romp, no matter how consensual. 

His silence was deafening. He was having difficulty processing. He was upset. She let him grieve the false construct that was virginity for only a minute or two before speaking up. 

_ I see… You only wanted an innocent virgin. I am sullied, and therefore of no use to you. I will take my leave. _

_ No, don’t! _ Gregori commanded, the compulsion that had once been irresistible to her was now weak and pitiful, diminished from a century spent in slumber without blood. 

_ Well? _

_ I can forgive this… transgression. As a young male, I too, partook in other women. _

_ I’m aware. All Carpathian males do. Women are never permitted to grow old enough to want to do such a thing, to want to experience the pleasure of sex with others before being bound forever. It is as much our right as it is theirs. Maybe more so, if we can produce more female children in such a way. _

_Children?_ Gregori replied, taken aback. _Savannah, have you?_

_ Unfortunately, no. It seems that human males are still not as suitable for producing more of our kind as human females. _

Gregori did not try to hide his relief. If Savannah had had children with another… there was no telling what he might do. Already he was having to adjust to the idea that there had been other men. If she’d had a child, a child he would have to raise, or forever be tethered to, a child not his own-

_ Stop your fretting,  _ Savannah replied flatly, displeased with his train of thought.  _ There is no child. And if there had been one, I would have started walking away several minutes ago, you would be no good to them.  _

_ You must forgive my thoughts,  _ ma petite.  _ This is a lot to take in. _

Savannah held her tongue. When she was younger, he had shown her just how little regard he’d had for the fact that being his lifemate was "a lot to take in." But she had vowed to put such thoughts behind her. Now she needed to give him what he had denied her: patience. She needed to lead by example. 

_ Tell me more about these equal terms. What will happen if we can’t reach a compromise? _

He sounded almost hopeful, as if she would, for some reason, allow him to have the final word, to break any tie should they turn out to be equally stubborn.

_ There is always a compromise to be reached, _ Savannah stated firmly.  _ You are so used to people giving in because you are ancient, powerful, and male, that you never learned the art of giving, even when you don’t want to give. As a woman, I have a lifetime of experience in compromise, so I know for a fact that there is always a compromise to be made, and the only barrier to striking a deal with your partner is pride.  _

Gregori wrestled with this concept for a moment or two. He struggled not to mention that she had fled from him rather than compromise, at the risk of losing her. She had her response at the ready. She had fled only when he attempted to rape her, though she could have left so much sooner and spared herself the nightmares, and the pain. She’d needed time and discussion to work out what needed to be done, but circumstance had robbed them of that. The circumstance, of course, being that he had lived centuries before her and had been on the edge--he’d thought--of turning vampire. How ironic it was that in his hurry to claim her, he’d forced himself to wait another century, instead of the two or three years it might have taken her to accept her fate had he been as patient and understanding as she was being now. 

The irony was not lost on him.

_ I sense that there are other rules, aside from always being willing to compromise.  _

Savannah smiled, happy to move on. It meant that he was giving her terms real consideration.

_ You must never force me to act against my own will, physically or through mental compulsion, unless I am a vampire in need of putting down. I don’t care if my life, your life, or the lives of our children are involved. You must trust me to do the best thing, just as I must trust you, because Gregori, for all the power I have gathered over the years, I could not compel you to act against your will if I tried. _

_ That’s a heavy toll. My life, yours, or the children? Even for our children, you would not yield your independence?  _ Gregori asked, clearly disapproving of the notion. He would do anything for the safety of his children. There was no way to hold himself to this impossible standard.

_ It is for our future children that I have made the rule. Contrary to popular belief, Gregori, you do not always know best. Being unable to puppeteer me, you’ll have to communicate and compromise. I’m sure it is an old habit of yours, so I will have to hold you to the standard, under pain of death. Because if we are bound, you will die as I will if you rob me of my freedom. _

More silence, frustration. He was an old mind trying to learn new tricks. He’d done himself no favors by hiding away from the world for so long, mulling over the past. He had no understanding of what the world was like these days. He had no idea that even amongst the Carpathians he was an absolute relic. Their women were stronger now, more numerous, and more independent. The idea that a man should carry all the weight of decision-making was a thing of the past. Partnership was the way of the future, even if Carpathian ones continued to lean moderately towards the male. 

_ What of your career? The magic show?  _ Gregori asked.

_ I still do it. It was my first passion, after all, to enchant and dazzle the humans with my magic and skills. But I will admit that a lot of my passion for it has died down with the passing of my assistant, Petra. _

_ She was your lover,  _ Gregori stated, pure fact.

_ She was, and I miss her dearly. I’ve tried several replacements, but none of them quite stack up. We don’t have the same chemistry, or the same understanding. _ She allowed her voice to reflect the sorrow that she had so desperately shielded from her mother, father, and siblings when she had returned home. Petra’s death had affected her more deeply than she had dared to show. The other Carpathians would never understand. They would never know love aside from their lifemates.

_ Is there perhaps… room for me upon your stage? _

Shock nearly overwhelmed her. She had come here with only half a hope that Gregori might understand what she needed of him and agree. She could hear in the ring of his mind that this was more than a question. It was an acceptance of all of her terms. Her knees went weak with gratitude. 

_ I can make some. _

  
  



End file.
